


Shelf Awareness

by Vidriana



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Fluff, Librarian Willy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-01 01:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15132359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vidriana/pseuds/Vidriana
Summary: “Can I help you find anything?” a voice behind him asks and Zach breathes out a sigh of relief.“Sorry, I’m here so late, but I was—” he says as he turns around, but abruptly breaks off when he comes face to face with probably one of the most gorgeous people he’s ever seen in his life.Willy is a librarian and Zach somehow has to cope with that





	Shelf Awareness

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [LottieAnna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LottieAnna/pseuds/LottieAnna) in the [PuckingRare2018](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/PuckingRare2018) collection. 



> **Prompt:** librarian au where willy is the librarian, and zach is just trying to cope with that.
> 
> I saw the prompt and couldn't resist!

It’s 4:54 pm on a Sunday when Zach sprints through the big wooden double door of the library. He pauses to catch his breath, bracing his hands on his knees to avoid keeling over right there on the spot.

His eyes catch on the gleaming brass sign by the door, cheerfully declaring _Toronto Public Library. Opening Hours: Mon - Fri: 9 am - 8:30 pm, Sat: 9am - 5 pm, Sun: 1:30 pm - 5 pm._ Zach checks his watch and swears. 4:55 pm.

With much more effort than should be expected from a college athlete he starts moving again, making his way up a flight of stairs, then another, up to the second floor. 

It looks a bit different from what he remembers, the rows upon rows of shelves smaller and much less intimidating than they had seemed in his memories but the layout is still familiar, still the same sprawling maze of books, interspersed with comfortable couches and chairs that he’d loved to curl up in as a child, with doors leading off to more secluded study rooms he’d often used during his high school years.

It’s also a lot emptier now than Zach remembers it, but that’s to be expected. Most people probably had the good sense to check out their books more than three minutes before closing time. 

As it turns out, his perception isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Instead of the zoology section he’d been looking for, he only finds the sports section, and while he enjoys a good athlete biography as much as the next person, that’s really not what he came here for. He checks his watch again. 4:58 pm.

“Can I help you find anything?” a voice behind him asks and Zach breathes out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry, I’m here so late, but I was—” he says as he turns around, but abruptly breaks off when he comes face to face with probably one of the most gorgeous people he’s ever seen in his life. 

The guy is about as tall as him, has broad shoulders and a solid frame that reminds Zach more of hours on the ice than of long summers spent in the gym. He has blond hair and bright eyes, as well as a face so pretty Zach would almost call it delicate, if it wasn’t offset by a surprisingly strong jawline. He’s wearing a tshirt and shorts, sensible in the summer heat outside, and glasses that somehow round off the whole look, even though they shouldn’t. 

Zach isn’t quite sure if he actually needs them or if they’re simply a fashion statement.

The attractive stranger cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. Zach realises he’s staring and promptly turns red.

“Zoology,” he finally manages. It’s not a full sentence, but at least it’s a word. Small victories. 

The stranger nods, as if he’s used to people going sort of monosyllabic around him. “Yeah, we moved that section a couple months ago. Got a huge donation recently and we needed more space for the sports section. Come on, I’ll show you.”

Before Zach can even offer a token protest, the stranger is already walking away and Zach has to hurry to catch up. “You really don’t have to,” he says anyway. The stranger shrugs.

“It’s my job,” he says and then grins at Zach’s confused look. “I’m a librarian,” he explains and that makes sense, given how he’d talked about the library moving sections around, but it also makes absolutely no sense at all. 

“Not what you expected, huh?” he teases and Zach has absolutely no idea how to respond to that without sounding incredibly rude. The stranger — the librarian— just waves his hand in a vague brushing off motion. “Don’t worry, I get that all the time. Maybe I should go for the traditional sweater vest aesthetic when it cools down a bit, so people won’t be so surprised all the time. What do you think?”

No sweater vest in the world is going to stop him looking like someone who just walked out of a photoshoot, but Zach can’t exactly say that. “I’m sure you could rock a sweater vest,” is what he says instead, and it’s lame, but it’s absolutely worth it when the librarian smiles at him.

“Right? I’m Willy by the way, and that’s our zoology section,” he says, pointing at a long row of bookshelves to his right. “What exactly are you looking for?”

“Zach. I need something about llamas,” Zach says, already scanning the shelves for anything that might look helpful. “I have a draft due tomorrow and just realized I don’t know anything about lamas.”

Willy shakes his head, looking reproachful. “You know nothing about llamas? That’s just terrible, Zach. A failure of the Canadian education system, clearly.” He keeps the serious face for a second longer before cracking a wide smile, and Zach’s heart skips a beat. Of course the hot librarian is a huge dork. Of course. Zach’s life is not fair. 

“I deeply apologize for the severe gaps in my general education, I’m hoping to make up for them with your help” he retorts, bowing his head slightly to underline just how sorry he is.

Willy laughs and it’s loud in the mostly empty library. “It’s alright, that’s what we’re here for,” he graciously announces, patting Zach’s shoulder companionably. Then he hesitates. “Do you need me for anything else?”

 _I could use your number_ , Zach wants to say, but even he’s not that lame so he just shuffles awkwardly and shakes his head. “I think I’m good, thanks.”

“Alright, I’ll be by the front desk when you wanna check out,” Willy says with a shrug and leaves. Zach bites his lip and resists the temptation to stare after him, turning to the books instead and silently cursing his missed opportunity.

It’s difficult to remember why scientifically accurate portrayals of llamas had suddenly seemed so indispensable when he had been working on his draft at home. Now Zach can barely make himself focus on more than the titles of the books he might need.

It takes a good ten minutes before Zach has finally accumulated an appropriate collection of llama knowledge and makes his way to the front desk. Willy is slouched in his chair, feet propped up on a small filing cabinet and Zach realizes with a start that the library was supposed to close twenty minutes ago.

“Sorry for keeping you so late,” he says, plopping down his books on the counter. 

“Oh don’t worry, I don’t mind,” Willy assures with a smile while he scans them, opening each book to do it. Zach tells himself it’s just stock customer service, that Willy is probably this nice to everyone, but he can’t help feeling pleased anyway. 

When Willy finally hands over the books, Zach is still desperately trying to come up with something to say. “I’ll see you around?” is what he settles on, and he has to suppress a wince at how unsure his voice sounds.

“You know where to find me,” Willy responds and there isn’t really anything else Zach can say, so he gives an awkward wave and leaves.

He’s still thinking about wasted opportunities when comes home and sees a piece of paper sticking out of the first book. Curiously he opens it to find a note tucked inside.

 _I don’t know anything about llamas either but I hope you might want to have coffee with me anyway,_ it says in kind of scrawly cursive, followed by a phone number and a smiley face.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it :)
> 
> If you wanna talk about anything relating to the story, or just hockey rpf fic things in general, please leave me a comment or feel free to come talk to me on my [writing Tumblr](https://vidrianawrites.tumblr.com/)!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] Shelf Awareness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17276378) by [Annapods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annapods/pseuds/Annapods)




End file.
